Under the Microscope


2026
Photo-book


Under the Microscope is a concept-driven photo-book that reimagines the scientific Petri dish as an object of visual exploration. The imagery of food samples, captured using a Keyence VHX-X1 Digital Microscope, examines the relationship between the natural and the manufactured, inviting viewers to question the assumptions they make about what they consume.

Removed from their everyday context and magnified beyond recognition, organic whole foods and ultra-processed foods become abstract compositions of colour, texture, and form. In this altered state, distinctions between the natural and the artificial begin to blur. The familiar becomes unfamiliar, transformed into aerial landscapes of an alien planet.

By shifting food from a subject of consumption to one of observation, Under the Microscope explores how scale can distort perception, reveal unexpected beauty and challenge conventional ideas of authenticity, value, and nature.

Special thanks to Tom Carter, Technical Team Leader in Environmental Science at UWE Frenchay Campus, and to Alex Davis and the Print Bureau Team at UWE Bower Ashton, whose expertise and support made this photo-book possible.



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